Validation and storage of transaction data for a blockchain

ABSTRACT

A system includes a memory and a processor configured to execute computer instructions stored in the memory that when executed cause the system to perform operations. The operations include receiving transaction data associated with a transaction via a transaction component. The operations include incorporating at least a portion of the transaction data into a security process associated with challenge-response authentication of a data block for the transaction data. The data block includes cryptographic hash data for another data block in a blockchain associated with the data block. The operations include validating the data block associated with the blockchain based on the security process.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to transaction systems, and morespecifically, to validation and storage of transaction data for ablockchain.

BACKGROUND

A blockchain is an implementation of a digital ledger. Similar to adatabase, a digital ledger can record information of various types, butunlike most databases, blockchain implementations employ cryptography tofacilitate that recorded information is immutable and trusted. Data onthe blockchain is immutable because it cannot be changed or removed, andit can thus be trusted because it is immutable. A given blockchainachieves this immutable quality by sharing instances of the ledger amongdifferent parties on a network and using a consensus model that employsmultiparty agreement and verification each time an addition is made tothe blockchain. Current consensus models however require large amountsof computing resources in order to establish trust in the blockchain. Itwould be desirable if more efficient systems methods were provided todetermine consensus and/or store information on the blockchain.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Numerous example aspects, implementations, objects and advantagesdescribed herein will be apparent upon consideration of the followingdetailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which like reference characters refer to like partsthroughout.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an example, non-limiting networksystem that includes a validator component to facilitate storingtransactions in a blockchain in accordance with one or more examplesdescribed herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example, non-limiting networksystem that includes at least one validator component to generateencrypted queries to facilitate validating and storing transaction datain a blockchain in accordance with one or more examples describedherein.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an example, non-limiting networksystem that includes a transaction component operated by at least onevalidator component to generate encrypted queries to facilitatevalidating and storing transaction data in a blockchain in accordancewith one or more examples described herein.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an example, non-limiting networksystem that includes at least one validator component and blockchainresponder component to generate encrypted queries and encryptedresponses that facilitate validating and storing transaction data in ablockchain in accordance with one or more examples described herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an example, non-limiting networksystem that includes at least one validator component and blockchainresponder component to facilitate encrypted key exchanges, generateencrypted queries and encrypted responses that facilitate validating andstoring transaction data in a blockchain in accordance with one or moreexamples described herein.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an example, non-limiting onlinetransaction system that includes a transaction component operating withan electronic device to facilitate validating and storing transactiondata in a blockchain in accordance with one or more examples describedherein.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of an example, non-limiting onlinetransaction component that executes a Turing test to facilitatevalidating and storing transaction data in a blockchain in accordancewith one or more examples described herein.

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of an example, non-limiting onlinetransaction component that executes a Turing test for multipletransactions to facilitate validating and storing transaction data in ablockchain in accordance with one or more examples described herein.

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an example, non-limiting networksystem operating with a blockchain to facilitate consensus validationand storage of transaction data in the blockchain in accordance with oneor more examples described herein.

FIG. 10 illustrates a block diagram of an example, non-limitingmachine-readable medium that includes a validator component tofacilitate storing transaction data in a blockchain in accordance withone or more examples described herein.

FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram of an example, non-limiting methodexecuted by a system and processor to facilitate storing transactiondata in a blockchain in accordance with one or more examples describedherein.

FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a suitable operatingenvironment example to facilitate storing transaction data in ablockchain in accordance with one or more examples described herein.

FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram of an example-computing environmentto facilitate storing transaction data in a blockchain in accordancewith one or more examples described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Systems and methods are provided for validating and storing transactiondata in a data block of a blockchain in a secure and efficient mannerOne or more validator components operate with transaction components(e.g., transaction interface) to facilitate transactions between atransactor (or transactors) and another system (or systems). Records ofthe transactions can be stored in a blockchain where a portion of thetransaction data is employed to achieve validation of the blockchain(e.g., consensus among multiple validators or validation by a singlevalidator generating multiple queries). The portion of the transactiondata can be formulated as encrypted queries related to the respectivetransaction(s) by query and security components operating with thevalidator components.

The encrypted queries can be exchanged over a network (e.g., privateand/or public network), where blockchain responder components that maybe entrusted with updating the blockchain, in an example, based ongenerating encrypted responses to the queries. Upon receiving theencrypted responses, the validator components verify (e.g., consensusverification) that the encrypted responses correlate to the encryptedqueries. If such correlation is confirmed, the blockchain respondercomponents can be notified by the validator components to update theblockchain with the transaction data which mitigates the need forprocessing of an entire data block (or blocks) as in current systems.

The transactions, for example, may be financial transactions between atransactor (e.g., user requesting a transaction) and a retailer, a userand a bank, a user attempting to load a file (e.g., music orliterature), or some other type of transaction. The validator componentsand transaction components can be configured as a transaction system tofacilitate such transactions between the transactors and the respectiveentities in which underlying transaction data is to be exchanged. Thevalidator components may request different types of information in theform of a query from the transactors in order to authenticate and/orfurther validate a given transaction (e.g., validate an authenticatedperson is involved in the exchange versus a computer program acting asthe person). In an example, the responses from the transactors can beencrypted and sent to blockchain responder components that supplyencrypted responses to the respective queries. In another example, thevalidator components may generate the encrypted queries based oninformation exchanged in the transaction(s).

A public key can be exchanged with the blockchain responder componentsthat enable generation of encrypted responses to the encrypted queriesbased on some item (or items) associated with the transaction that hasbeen encrypted as part of the respective query. For example, a firstvalidator component may encrypt a query as “Name the third item on thereceipt in this transaction.” A second validator component involved witha separate transaction may encrypt “Identify the total of this secondtransaction before taxes are computed.” A blockchain responder component(or responders) may receive the encrypted queries and generate anencrypted response using the public key and identify answers to therespective queries. The response can be generated as part of ahomomorphic encryption, for example, that is based on the sum or productof the encrypted queries.

Private keys can be shared between the validator components to verifythat the responses from the blockchain responders using the public keycorrelate to the respective queries. If so, an acknowledgement can besent to the blockchain responder component (or components) to proceedand update the blockchain with the underlying transaction data involvedwith the transaction from the respective validator components. Inanother example, a single validator component may generate multipleencrypted queries based on a given transaction or a series oftransactions. In this example, a given blockchain responder componentmay formulate an encrypted response based on the multiple queriesgenerated by the respective validator component.

Based on responding to the query (or queries) in a suitable manner, thevalidator component itself may update the blockchain or pass anacknowledgement to the blockchain responder component to update theblockchain. By encrypting portions of transactions and receivingencrypted responses, less overall processing is involved to bothfacilitate security and establish future trust in the blockchain. Thus,blockchain validation and/or consensus can be achieved in a secure andmore efficient manner than current systems that require vast amounts ofcomputing resources such as currently employed for cryptographic hashprocessing of entire data blocks. Moreover, trust can be achieved viathe encrypted query/response protocols described herein that allowsupdating and/or adding new data blocks while mitigating vast arrays ofcomputing resources and processing to establish trust in the blockchain.

In an example, a system includes a memory and a processor configured toexecute computer instructions stored in the memory that when executedcause the system to perform operations. The operations include receivingtransaction data associated with a transaction via a transactioncomponent. The operations include incorporating at least a portion ofthe transaction data into a security process associated withchallenge-response authentication of a data block for the transactiondata. The data block includes cryptographic hash data for another datablock in a blockchain associated with the data block. The operationsinclude validating the data block associated with the blockchain basedon the security process.

In another example, a computer-implemented method, includes receiving,by a system having a processor and a memory, transaction data involvedin one or more transactions to be added to a data block of a blockchain.The method includes generating, by the system, at least two encryptedqueries that encrypts at least a portion of the transaction data asseparate encrypted values associated with the respective encryptedqueries. The method includes receiving, by the system, an encryptedresponse to the at least two encrypted queries representing anaggregated encrypted value determined from the separate encryptedvalues. The method includes verifying, by the system, that theaggregated encrypted value correlates to the separate encrypted values.

In yet another example, a non-transitory machine-readable medium havingmachine-readable instructions that when executed by a processor causethe processor to receive transaction data involved in one or moretransactions to be added to a data block of a blockchain. Theinstructions generate a plurality of encrypted queries that encrypts atleast a portion of the transaction data as separate encrypted valuesassociated with each of the plurality of encrypted queries. Theinstructions receive an encrypted response to the plurality of encryptedqueries, wherein the encrypted response is based upon the separateencrypted values. The instructions verify that the encrypted responsecorrelates to the separate encrypted values.

Various aspects of this disclosure are now described with reference tothe drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to likeelements throughout. In the following description, for purposes ofexplanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of one or more aspects. It should beunderstood, however, that certain aspects of this disclosure may bepracticed without one or more of these specific details in variousexamples, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth.not explicitly mentioned herein. In other instances, well-knownstructures and devices are shown in block diagram form to facilitatedescribing one or more aspects disclosed herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a non-limiting network system 100 (alsoreferred to as system 100) that includes a validator component 104 tofacilitate storing transaction data 108 in a blockchain (not shown seee.g., FIG. 9) in accordance with one or more examples described herein.The system 100 includes a memory 110 and a processor 114 configured toexecute computer instructions stored in the memory that when executedcause the system 100 to perform operations as described herein. Thetransaction data 108 is created by a transactor (see e.g., FIG. 2) thatinteracts with the transaction component 120 to facilitate atransaction. The transaction component 120 is operated by the validatorcomponent 104 to form a transaction system (see e.g., FIG. 2). Thetransaction component 120 can operate as an online transaction interfaceto facilitate receiving the transaction data 108 from the respectivetransactor.

As used herein, a transactor is a user who creates a given transactionto generate the transaction data 108 by interacting with the transactioncomponent 120. The transaction data can include financial transactions,intellectual property transactions such as music or literature, bartertransactions, auction transactions, and substantially any type oftransaction where transaction data 108 is exchanged between thetransaction component 120 and the transactor to facilitate thetransaction. The validator component 120 as used herein, is operated asa third-party component to facilitate a given transaction between thetransactor and some other party (e.g., a bank, a retailer, an auctionservice, a credit card company). The validator component 120 providesvalidation and authentication for a given transaction.

As used herein, the term validation refers to the process of thevalidator component 120 (or components) determining if blockchainresponder components (see e.g., FIG. 2) are credentialed and have solvedenough security responses to update a blockchain with the transactiondata 108. As used herein, authentication is the process where a giventransaction system operating the validator component 104 and transactioncomponent 120 initially checks a user's credentials (e.g., via atransaction interface) and determines whether to proceed with a giventransaction before the validation begins. Thus, authentication generallyoccurs before validation although such processes can occur concurrently.After suitable authentication and validation, the validator component(s)104 can authorize blockchain responders (or take action themselves) totransfer data to the respective blockchain such as shown transferred at124. Blockchain responder components and blockchains are illustrated anddescribed below with respect to FIGS. 2, 4, 5, and 9.

The operations executed by the processor 114 (or processors) and storedas instructions in the memory 110 include receiving the transaction data108 associated with a transaction via the transaction component 120. Theoperations include incorporating at least a portion of the transactiondata 108 into a security process associated with challenge-responseauthentication of a data block for the transaction data 108. Thesecurity process as described herein can be executed by a securitycomponent 130 that provides encryption of queries, among other securityfunctions, involved in the authentication and validation of thetransaction data 108 before it can be stored in the blockchain. Suchauthentication and validation are described below with respect to FIGS.2-11. The data block as described herein includes cryptographic hashdata for another data block in a blockchain (see e.g., FIGS. 2 and 9)associated with the data block. The operations include validating thedata block associated with the blockchain based on the security processexecuted by the security component 130.

Rather than current systems that utilize vast amounts of computingresources to solve cryptographic hash algorithms that operate over theentire history of the blockchain, the network system 100 encryptsportions of the transaction data 108 as part of a query, where one ormore blockchain responder components respond to the query in anencrypted manner to allow the validator component 104 to determine ifthe transaction data 108 can be added to the respective blockchain. Inthis manner, a portion of the transaction data 108 is used to determinetrust in the blockchain and thus much fewer computing resources andprocessing is involved to both establish the trust and to facilitateimmutability in the blockchain. Thus, stored data in the blockchaincannot be changed and is immutable without entities (such as system 100)being aware of such changes since such entities are responsible for thesecurity mechanisms that enabled respective updates to the blockchain.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a non-limiting network system 200 thatincludes at least one validator component 204 to generate encryptedqueries to facilitate validating and storing transaction data in ablockchain 208 in accordance with one or more examples described herein.The blockchain 208 can be configured as a series of data blocks wherenew data blocks are added to the blockchain based on the securityprotocols described herein. The blockchain 208 can be accessed over apublic and/or private network 212 (e.g., Internet, Intranet, businessnetwork) and managed by one or more entities entrusted to update theblockchain. The validator component 204 (or components) operates with atransaction component 216 and forms a transaction system 220 tofacilitate receiving transaction data from a transactor 224 operatingover the network 212. In an example, the transaction system 220 canmanage and/or process transactions associated with electronic accountsof users (e.g., facilitate payment between transactor and a third party,transfer files between parties, initiate secure activities betweenparties, and so forth).

The validator component 204 includes a query component 230 to generate aquery that is encrypted by a validator security component 234. The querycontains and encrypts some portion of the underlying transaction withthe transactor 224. The portion of transaction data can include aportion of the transaction itself (e.g., what is the second item in thetransaction, how much is the third item in the transaction), timestampinformation regarding the timing of the transaction, contextualinformation regarding some aspect of the transaction such as whatbuilding is nearby, what street is the transaction taking place, what isthe current temperature, and so forth. Another type of security protocolthat may be employed by the transaction system 220 is a Turing test suchas for example, a Completely Automated Public Turing test to tellComputers and Humans Apart (Captcha) that is a type ofchallenge-response test used in computing to determine whether thetransactor 224 is human.

Based on the encrypted queries generated by the validator component 204and query component 230, one or more blockchain responders 240 mayanswer the respective encrypted queries via a response component 244that employs a responder security component 248 to generate an encryptedanswer to the portion of the transaction that is formulated in theencrypted query by the validator component 204. As used herein, the termblockchain responder refers to an entity entrusted to update theblockchain 208 based on suitably answering the respective queries fromthe validator component 204. In one example, multiple validatorcomponents 204 may generate a query (or queries) related to separatetransactions, where the blockchain responder components 240 answer eachof the queries is a combined response and the respective validatorcomponents verify that their query was answered successfully by theblockchain responder.

Upon suitable verification, the validator components 204 can notify theblockchain responder 240 to update the blockchain 208 with thetransaction data associated with respective transactions with theirassociated transactors 224. In another example, a single validatorcomponent 204 may generate multiple queries relating to single and/ormultiple transactions and verify that a given blockchain responder 204has answered the respective query (or queries) suitably before notifyingthe responder to update the blockchain 208 with the transaction data. Inyet other examples, upon verification, the validator component 204 mayupdate the blockchain 208 with the transaction data and thus bypass theupdate by the blockchain responder component 240. The blockchainresponder component 240 can be any entity having authority to update theblockchain 208 upon successfully completing the security exchanges(e.g., providing encrypted responses to the encrypted queries) describedherein. In a crypto-currency example, the blockchain responder component240 could be a “minor” that answers the encrypted queries, however, thesystems and methods described herein are not limited to blockchainmining examples employed as the blockchain responders 240.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example, non-limiting network system 300 thatincludes a transaction component 304 operated by at least one validatorcomponent (not shown) to generate encrypted queries to facilitatevalidating and storing transaction data in a blockchain in accordancewith one or more examples described herein. The transaction component304 includes a transaction interface 308 that operates via a networkconnection 312 across network 316. The network connection 312 connectsto a transactor interface 320 operated on an electronic device 324 thatcan include a computer, cell phone, workstation, personal digitalassistant, or substantially any device capable of operating thetransactor interface. A transaction response component 328 is providedto enable answering authentication and/or security questions regardingthe underlying transaction that is issued from the transaction component304 and as provided by the transaction interface 308. As shown, thetransaction interface 308 can issue various types of queries to thetransactor interface 320 in which the transactor provides a responsethereto via the transaction response component 328.

In one example, a transaction query 332 can be formulated, where thequery contains and encrypts some portion of the underlying transactionwith the transactor. The portion of transaction data can include aportion of the transaction itself such as what is the fourth item in thetransaction (e.g., book, card, device), how much is the third item inthe transaction, what is the amount of the transaction before tax, andso forth. In another example, a contextual query 336 can be formulatedand issued (e.g., by the transaction system) via the transactioninterface 308, where contextual information can be queried from thetransactor regarding some aspect of the transaction such as whatbuilding is nearby, what street is the transaction taking place, what isthe name or color of the sign nearby, and so forth.

In yet another example, a Turing test query 340 can be initiated by thetransaction interface 308. This can include a Completely AutomatedPublic Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart (Captcha) that isa type of challenge-response test used in computing to determine whetherthe transactor is human. In still yet another example, a timestamp query344 can be initiated by the transaction interface 308, where some aspectof time is queried with the transactor such as approximately when didyou logon to the transaction system, when was the last item in thetransaction selected or listed, approximately how many hours is it untilthe sun sets, and so forth. In some examples, the transactor answers tothe queries can be encrypted as queries which are then forwarded to theblockchain responders. In other examples, the validator componentshaving knowledge of the underlying transactions, and thus may formulatethe queries without involving the transactor responses in the queriesissued to the blockchain responders. In other examples, both transactorresponses and validator query formulations may be encrypted and suppliedto the respective blockchain responders which are subsequently answeredin encrypted form before updating the blockchain with the transactiondata gathered from the electronic device 324.

The transactor interface 320 can be tasked with rendering at least aportion of the security process (e.g., encrypted query) described hereinvia a display of the electronic device 324. The rendering can include atleast one of rendering visual data associated with the security processvia the display and rendering contextual data associated with thetransaction via the display. Rendering the visual data can include atleast one of presenting the visual data associated with a queryregarding information contained in the portion of the transaction dataand generating a query regarding contextual information for thetransaction. As mentioned previously, rendering the visual data caninclude at least one of presenting the visual data based on a timestampassociated with the transaction and rendering the visual data byexecuting an automated Turing test associated with thechallenge-response authentication of the system.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a non-limiting network system 400 thatincludes at least one validator component 404 and blockchain respondercomponent 408 to generate encrypted queries and encrypted responses thatfacilitate validating and storing transactions in a blockchain inaccordance with one or more examples described herein. As shown, thevalidator component 404 communicates over a network 412 to theblockchain responder components to facilitate storing transaction datainto a blockchain 416. The validator component 404 includes a querycomponent 420 that in turn includes a query generator/response receiver424 to both send encrypted queries and receive/process encryptedresponses from the blockchain responder components 408. A validatorsecurity component 430 includes a validator encryption component 434 toencrypt queries as described herein. A private key generator/receiver438 is employed to send/receive private encryption keys to othervalidators to verify blockchain responses to the respective encryptedqueries sent from each of the validators to the blockchain respondercomponents 408. A validator public key generator is sent over thenetwork 412 to the blockchain responders and utilized to answer theencrypted queries from the validator components 404.

The blockchain responder components 408 include a response component 446that includes a response generator/receiver 450 to both receiveencrypted queries from the validator components 404 and to transmitencrypted answers to the respective queries. A responder securitycomponent 454 includes a response encryption component 458 to generateencrypted answers to the queries and a public key receiver 462 toretrieve public keys from the validator components 404 and are used tointerpret/answer the encrypted queries sent from the respectivevalidators.

As mentioned previously, a transaction component (not shown) can beoperated by the validator component 404, where the validator componentfacilitates operations that include at least one of generating at leastone transactor query regarding the transaction to a transactor via thedisplay of an electronic device. This also includes generating at leastone blockchain query regarding the transaction to a blockchain respondercomponent 408 having authority to update the blockchain 416. Thetransaction component includes presenting a transaction interface to thetransactor to facilitate performing at least one of a financial exchangebetween parties, a file exchange between parties, and a propertyexchange between parties, wherein the data block in the blockchain 416is employed to record the exchanges.

A private key can be employed by the validator component 404 as part ofthe security process described herein to encrypt the at least onetransactor query and the at least one blockchain query. A public key canbe exchanged between the validator component 404 and the blockchainresponder component 408 as part of the security process, wherein thepublic key is employed by the blockchain responder component to send anencrypted response in response to the encrypted blockchain query. Theprivate key can be employed by the validator component 404 as part ofthe security process for verifying the encrypted response to theencrypted blockchain query.

The blockchain responder component 408 and/or validator component 404update the data block in the blockchain 416 with the transaction databased on verifying the encrypted response. The security process asdescribed herein can include a homomorphic encryption (e.g., viaPaillier cryptographic model), where the encrypted queries are generatedas E(Q₁), E(Q₂) . . . E(Q_(N)) by the at least one validator component404. The blockchain responder component 408 responds with the encryptedresponse to the respective queries and can be represented as anaggregated encrypted value such as a summation (or product) representedas E(Q₁+Q₂ . . . +Q_(N)) or E(Q₁*Q₂ . . . *Q_(N)), with E representingan encryption using a private or public key, Q representing a query, andN representing a positive integer. In one example, the encrypted queriesand the encrypted response is generated as a hash value.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a non-limiting network system 500 thatincludes validator components and at least one blockchain respondercomponent to facilitate encrypted key exchanges, generate encryptedqueries and encrypted responses that facilitate validating and storingtransactions across a network 512 to a blockchain 516 in accordance withone or more examples described herein. The following process example isprovided to illustrate a security process via example exchanges 1through 7 below in which the blockchain 516 can be updated:

Exchange 1: Transactor 1 (not shown) operating with validator component1 creates a transaction and answers Query Q(1) at 520 (e.g., usercreates a financial transaction using a financial payment provider).

Exchange 2: A public key at 524 can be shared with the rest of the chain(validator components 504 and blockchain responders 508).

Exchange 3: Validator 1 creates a query Q(1) with an answer to the querythen encrypts it with a selected private key 528 agreed upon amongvalidators and designates the answer as Encrypted Answer E(1).

Exchange 4: Process continues for a set of other transactions forinstance two other validators 2 and validator M (M being a positiveinteger) can create their own queries Q(2), Q(M), respectively, whereeach validator holds onto their respective encrypted answers E(2) andE(M).

Exchange 5: The blockchain responder component 508 responds at 532 withan answer to Q(1), Q(2), and Q(M) and then will add them together togenerate (A1)+(A2)+(AM) and then send encrypted sum E(A1+A2+AM) (orproduct) to the set of validator components 504.

Exchange 6: The validators 1 through M share E(1), E(2), and E(M)amongst each other to generate E(A1+A2+AM) and verify by encrypting the(A1+A2+AM) generated by the blockchain responder 508 to verify that thetwo values correlate. Based on a homomorphic encryption protocol, forexample, E(A1)+E(A2)+E(AM)=E(A1+A2+AM).

Exchange 7: Blockchain responder component 508 updates blockchain 516upon successfully answering the questions and receiving a verificationacknowledgement at 536. In another example, validator components 504 canupdate the blockchain 516 upon receiving suitable answers in theresponse 532.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a non-limiting online transactionsystem 600 that includes a transaction component 604 operating with anelectronic device 606 across a network 612 to facilitate validating andstoring transactions in a blockchain in accordance with one or moreexamples described herein. In this example, a remote interface may beoperated by the transaction component 608 across the network 612 inaccordance with the electronic device 606. For instance, the electronicdevice 606 could be a computer operating the remote interface wheresecurity credentials are checked and responses to queries as describedherein can be provided. The remote interface can be provided as part ofa graphical user interface, for example that supplies various fields toexchange user information, transaction details, and information tosupply Captcha exchanges and/or other type query exchanges as describedherein.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a non-limiting online transactionsystem 700 that executes a Turing test to facilitate validating andstoring transaction data in a blockchain in accordance with one or moreexamples described herein. In this example, transaction data 704 isexchanged as part of a Turing test with a Captcha component 708 andstored as received Captcha response data 712. For example, the responsedata 712 may include a response by a transactor confirming they are auser of the system as opposed to a computer program disguised as a user.The Captcha response data 712 can be formulated into a query such asdescribed with respect to FIG. 6, where a block chain consensus can beachieved at 716 by each of the respective validators confirming thattheir respective encrypted answers were received and suitably answeredby the blockchain responders.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a non-limiting online transactionsystem that executes a Turing test for multiple transactions tofacilitate validating and storing transaction data in a blockchain inaccordance with one or more examples described herein. In this example,transaction data 802 is collected from multiple transactors that areinteracting with one or more Captcha components 806 to facilitatesecurity with a given transaction. The transaction data 802 isaggregated as security data 810 and stored as received security data814. A block chain consensus can be achieved at 818 by each of therespective validators confirming that their respective encrypted answersbased on the transaction data 802 were received and suitably answered bythe blockchain responders such as described with respect to FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a non-limiting network system 900operating with a blockchain 910 to facilitate consensus validation andstorage of transactions in the blockchain in accordance with one or moreexamples described herein. As shown, the blockchain 910 includes datablocks 1 through D, with D being a positive integer. A consensusvalidation process 920 is executed according to the validation andsecurity processes described with respect to FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 to updatethe blockchain. The consensus validation process 920 operates inaccordance with blockchain responder/validator components at 930 toexecute the security processes described herein in order to update theblockchain 910.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a non-limiting machine-readable medium1000 that includes a validator component 1004 to facilitate storingtransaction data in a blockchain (not shown) in accordance with one ormore examples described herein. The machine-readable medium 1000includes machine-readable instructions that when executed by a processor1010 cause the processor to receive transaction data involved in one ormore transactions to be added to a data block of a blockchain. Thetransaction data can be received by a transaction component 1014. Theinstructions the validation component 1004 and a security component 1018that generate a plurality of encrypted queries that encrypts at least aportion of the transaction data as separate encrypted values associatedwith each of the plurality of encrypted queries.

The instructions, executed by the validator component 1004, receive anencrypted response to the plurality of encrypted queries, wherein theencrypted response is based upon the separate encrypted values. Theinstructions, executed by the validator component 1004, verify that theencrypted response correlates to the separate encrypted values. Theinstructions also can include causing the processor 1010 to update thedata block in the blockchain with the transaction data based onverifying that the encrypted response (e.g., by the validator component1004) correlates to the separate encrypted values.

FIG. 11 illustrates a computer-implemented methodology and/or a flowdiagram in accordance with the disclosed subject matter. For simplicityof explanation, the methodology 1100 is depicted and described as aseries of acts. It is to be understood and appreciated that the subjectmethod is not limited by the acts illustrated and/or by the order ofacts, for example acts can occur in various orders and/or concurrently,and with other acts not presented and described herein. Furthermore, notall illustrated acts may be employed to implement the methodology inaccordance with the disclosed subject matter. In addition, those skilledin the art will understand and appreciate that the methodology couldalternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states via astate diagram or events. Additionally, it should be further appreciatedthat the methodology disclosed hereinafter and throughout thisspecification are capable of being stored on an article of manufactureto facilitate transporting and transferring such methodologies tocomputers. The term article of manufacture, as used herein, is intendedto encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer/machine-readable device and/or storage media.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a non-limiting method 1100 executed bya system and processor to facilitate validating and storing transactiondata in a blockchain in accordance with one or more examples describedherein. At 1110, the method 1100 includes receiving, by a system havinga processor and a memory, transaction data involved in one or moretransactions to be added to a data block of a blockchain (e.g., via atransaction system 216). At 1120, the method 1100 includes generating,by the system, at least two encrypted queries that encrypts at least aportion of the transaction data as separate encrypted values associatedwith the respective encrypted queries (e.g., via query component 230 andvalidator security component 234). At 1130, the method 1100 includesreceiving, by the system, an encrypted response to the at least twoencrypted queries representing an aggregated encrypted value (e.g., atleast one of an encrypted summation or an encrypted product) determinedfrom the separate encrypted values (e.g., received via validatorcomponent 204). At 1140, the method 1100 includes verifying, by thesystem, that the aggregated encrypted value correlates to the separateencrypted values (e.g., via the validator component 204).

Although not shown, the method 1100 can also include updating, by thesystem, the data block in the blockchain with the transaction data basedon verifying that the aggregated encrypted value correlates to theseparate encrypted values. The method 1100 can include employing, by thesystem, a private key to encrypt the at least two encrypted queries, andutilizing, by the system, a public key to generate the encryptedresponse to the at least two encrypted queries. The method 1110 caninclude utilizing the private key for verifying, by the system, that theaggregated encrypted value correlates to the separate encrypted values.In an example, the at least two encrypted queries are generated as ahomomorphic encryption, wherein the encrypted queries are generated asE(Q₁), E(Q₂) . . . E(Q_(N)) and the encrypted response to the respectivequeries can be an aggregated encrypted value such as a summationrepresented as E(Q₁+Q₂+ . . . Q_(N)) or a product E(Q₁*Q₂ . . . *Q_(N)),with E representing an encryption using a private or public key, Qrepresenting a query, and N representing a positive integer. In anotherexample, the at least two encrypted queries and the encrypted responseis generated as a hash value.

In order to provide a context for the various examples of the disclosedsubject matter, FIGS. 12 and 13 as well as the following discussion areintended to provide a brief, general description of a suitableenvironment in which the various examples of the disclosed subjectmatter may be implemented.

FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a suitable operatingenvironment example to facilitate storing transactions in a blockchainin accordance with one or more examples described herein. With referenceto FIG. 12, a suitable environment 1200 for implementing various aspectsof this disclosure includes a computer 1212. The computer 1212 includesa processing unit 1214, a system memory 1216, and a system bus 1218. Thesystem bus 1218 couples system components including, but not limited to,the system memory 1216 to the processing unit 1214. The processing unit1214 can be any of various available processors. Dual microprocessorsand other multiprocessor architectures also can be employed as theprocessing unit 1214.

The system bus 1218 can be any of several types of bus structure(s)including the memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus orexternal bus, and/or a local bus using any variety of available busarchitectures including, but not limited to, Industrial StandardArchitecture (ISA), Micro-Channel Architecture (MSA), Extended ISA(EISA), Intelligent Drive Electronics (IDE), VESA Local Bus (VLB),Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), Card Bus, Universal Serial Bus(USB), Advanced Graphics Port (AGP), Personal Computer Memory CardInternational Association bus (PCMCIA), Firewire (IEEE 1394), and SmallComputer Systems Interface (SCSI).

The system memory 1216 includes volatile memory 1220 and nonvolatilememory 1222. The basic input/output system (BIOS), containing the basicroutines to transfer information between elements within the computer1212, such as during start-up, is stored in nonvolatile memory 1222. Byway of illustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory 1222 caninclude read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electricallyprogrammable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM(EEPROM), flash memory, or nonvolatile random access memory (RAM) (e.g.,ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM). Volatile memory 1220 includes random accessmemory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way ofillustration and not limitation, RAM is available in many forms such asstatic RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), doubledata rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM(SLDRAM), direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM), direct Rambus dynamic RAM (DRDRAM),and Rambus dynamic RAM.

Computer 1212 also includes removable/non-removable,volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. FIG. 12 illustrates, forexample, a disk storage 1224. Disk storage 1224 includes, but is notlimited to, devices like a magnetic disk drive, floppy disk drive, tapedrive, Jaz drive, Zip drive, LS-100 drive, flash memory card, or memorystick. The disk storage 1224 also can include storage media separatelyor in combination with other storage media including, but not limitedto, an optical disk drive such as a compact disk ROM device (CD-ROM), CDrecordable drive (CD-R Drive), CD rewritable drive (CD-RW Drive) or adigital versatile disk ROM drive (DVD-ROM). To facilitate connection ofthe disk storage devices 1224 to the system bus 1218, a removable ornon-removable interface is typically used, such as interface 1226.

FIG. 12 also depicts software that acts as an intermediary between usersand the basic computer resources described in the suitable operatingenvironment 1200. Such software includes, for example, an operatingsystem 1228. Operating system 1228, which can be stored on disk storage1224, acts to control and allocate resources of the computer system1212. System applications 1230 take advantage of the management ofresources by operating system 1228 through program modules 1232 andprogram data 1234, e.g., stored either in system memory 1216 or on diskstorage 1224. It is to be appreciated that this disclosure can beimplemented with various operating systems or combinations of operatingsystems.

A user enters commands or information into the computer 1212 throughinput device(s) 1236. Input devices 1236 include, but are not limitedto, a pointing device such as a mouse, trackball, stylus, touch pad,keyboard, microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, TVtuner card, digital camera, digital video camera, web camera, and thelike. These and other input devices connect to the processing unit 1214through the system bus 1218 via interface port(s) 1238. Interfaceport(s) 1238 include, for example, a serial port, a parallel port, agame port, and a universal serial bus (USB). Output device(s) 1240 usesome of the same type of ports as input device(s) 1236. Thus, forexample, a USB port may be used to provide input to computer 1212, andto output information from computer 1212 to an output device 1240.Output adapter 1242 is provided to illustrate that there are some outputdevices 1240 like monitors, speakers, and printers, among other outputdevices 1240, which require special adapters. The output adapters 1242include, by way of illustration and not limitation, video and soundcards that provide a means of connection between the output device 1240and the system bus 1218. It should be noted that other devices and/orsystems of devices provide both input and output capabilities such asremote computer(s) 1244.

Computer 1212 can operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections to one or more remote computers, such as remote computer(s)1244. The remote computer(s) 1244 can be a personal computer, a server,a router, a network PC, a workstation, a microprocessor-based appliance,a peer device or other common network node and the like, and typicallyincludes many or all of the elements described relative to computer1212. For purposes of brevity, only a memory storage device 1246 isillustrated with remote computer(s) 1244. Remote computer(s) 1244 islogically connected to computer 1212 through a network interface 1248and then physically connected via communication connection 1250. Networkinterface 1248 encompasses wire and/or wireless communication networkssuch as local-area networks (LAN), wide-area networks (WAN), cellularnetworks, etc. LAN technologies include Fiber Distributed Data Interface(FDDI), Copper Distributed Data Interface (CDDI), Ethernet, Token Ringand the like. WAN technologies include, but are not limited to,point-to-point links, circuit switching networks like IntegratedServices Digital Networks (ISDN) and variations thereon, packetswitching networks, and Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL).

Communication connection(s) 1250 refers to the hardware/softwareemployed to connect the network interface 1248 to the bus 1218. Whilecommunication connection 1250 is shown for illustrative clarity insidecomputer 1212, it can also be external to computer 1212. Thehardware/software necessary for connection to the network interface 1248includes, for exemplary purposes only, internal and externaltechnologies such as, modems including regular telephone grade modems,cable modems and DSL modems, ISDN adapters, and Ethernet cards.

FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram of a example-computing environmentto facilitate storing transactions in a blockchain in accordance withone or more examples described herein. FIG. 13 is a schematic blockdiagram of a sample-computing environment 1300 with which the subjectmatter of this disclosure can interact. The system 1300 includes one ormore client(s) 1310. The client(s) 1310 can be hardware and/or software(e.g., threads, processes, computing devices). The system 1300 alsoincludes one or more server(s) 1330. Thus, system 1300 can correspond toa two-tier client server model or a multi-tier model (e.g., client,middle tier server, data server), amongst other models. The server(s)1330 can also be hardware and/or software (e.g., threads, processes,computing devices). The servers 1330 can house threads to performtransformations by employing this disclosure, for example. One possiblecommunication between a client 1310 and a server 1330 may be in the formof a data packet transmitted between two or more computer processes.

The system 1300 includes a communication framework 1350 that can beemployed to facilitate communications between the client(s) 1310 and theserver(s) 1330. The client(s) 1310 are operatively connected to one ormore client data store(s) 1320 that can be employed to store informationlocal to the client(s) 1310. Similarly, the server(s) 1330 areoperatively connected to one or more server data store(s) 1340 that canbe employed to store information local to the servers 1330.

The above systems and methods described with respect to FIGS. 1-13 canbe employed to facilitate transactions in accordance with a transactionsystem and in accordance with one or more examples described herein. Therespective systems can be implemented on or in connection with a networkof servers associated with an enterprise application, for example. Inone example, the system can be associated with a cloud-based platformand can also be associated with a computing environment that comprisesone or more servers and/or one or more software components that operateto perform one or more processes, one or more functions and/or one ormore methodologies in accordance with the described examples. A sever asdisclosed herein can include, for example, stand-alone server and/or anenterprise-class server operating a server operating system (OS) such asa MICROSOFT® OS, a UNIX® OS, a LINUX® OS, and/or another suitableserver-based OS. It is to be appreciated that one or more operationsperformed by a server and/or one or more services provided by a servercan be combined, distributed, and/or separated for a givenimplementation. Furthermore, one or more servers can be operated and/ormaintained by a corresponding entity or different entities.

The system can be employed by various systems, such as, but not limitedto transaction systems, payment systems, online transaction systems,online payment systems, server systems, electronic device systems,mobile device systems, smartphone systems, virtual machine systems,consumer service systems, mobile application systems, financial systems,digital systems, machine learning systems, artificial intelligencesystems, neural network systems, network systems, computer networksystems, communication systems, enterprise systems, asset managementsystems, cloud storage systems, social networking systems, point of sale(POS) systems, and the like (note that the terms used above as examplesare not mutually exclusive; a “transaction system” does not imply thatsystem cannot also include or be a payment system, server system, and soforth).

In one example, the systems described herein can be associated with aPlatform-as-a-Service (PaaS). Moreover, the system and/or the componentsof the system can be employed to use hardware and/or software to solveproblems that are technical in nature (e.g., related to a computingsystem, related to a server system, related to digital data processing,and so forth), that are not abstract and that cannot be performed as aset of mental acts by a human.

Systems and components can be implemented as stored softwareinstructions that are executable by a processor to cause variousoperations to occur. Aspects of the systems, apparatuses or processesdescribed herein can constitute machine-executable component(s) embodiedwithin machine(s), e.g., embodied in one or more computer readablemediums (or media) associated with one or more machines. Suchcomponent(s), when executed by the one or more machines, e.g.,computer(s), computing device(s), virtual machine(s), and so forth, cancause the machine(s) to perform the operations described. The systemscan include memory for storing computer executable components andinstructions. The systems can further include a processor (orprocessors) to facilitate operation of the instructions (e.g., computerexecutable components and instructions).

The transactions described herein can be an electronic exchange executedby an electronic device. Furthermore, the transaction can be associatedwith one or more events (e.g., one or more transaction events)associated with the electronic device. In an example, an eventassociated with the transaction can include a numerical valuecorresponding to an amount for a transaction. Additionally oralternatively, an event associated with the transaction can include timedata related to a timestamp for the transaction. An event associatedwith the transaction can additionally or alternatively include an itemassociated with the transaction and/or an identifier for one or moreentities associated with the transaction. In some examples, thetransaction can include a set of transaction requests for an onlinetransaction system. In some examples, the transaction can be a financialtransaction. For example, the transaction can be data to facilitate atransfer of funds for transactions between two entities.

In some examples, the transaction can be associated with a web requestsession. For instance, the web request session can include, for example,establishing a connection with a transaction system (e.g., an onlinetransaction system), sending one or more requests to the transactionsystem (e.g., an online transaction system) for web session content,and/or receiving web session content from the transaction system (e.g.,an online transaction system). In an aspect, the transaction can resultin one or more actions, one or more tasks, one or more processes, one ormore requests, and/or one or more transmissions being performed via theelectronic device and/or an online transaction system in communicationwith the electronic device.

The electronic device described herein can be a computing device, a userdevice, a client device, a mobile device, a smart phone, a tabletdevice, a handheld device, a portable computing device, a smart device(e.g. an Internet-of-Things devices such as a smart television, and soforth), a wearable device, a computer, a desktop computer, a laptopcomputer, a point of sale (POS) device, and/or another type ofelectronic device associated with a display (e.g., the electronic devicecan be more than one of the type of devices listed above, which arenon-exclusive categories in various embodiments). In an example, theinterfaces described herein can render one or more graphical elementsassociated with the transactions described herein and presented on adisplay of the electronic device. This can include management of one ormore communications and/or one or more transmissions with respect to theelectronic device to facilitate the transaction via the electronicdevice.

The transaction systems described herein can be an online transactionsystem in an example and the electronic devices described herein can bein communication via a network. The network can be a communicationnetwork, a wireless network, an IP network, a voice over IP network, aninternet telephony network, a mobile telecommunications network, alandline telephone network, a personal area network, a wired network,and/or another type of network. The online transaction system can be,for example, a stand-alone server and/or an enterprise-class serveroperating a server OS such as a MICROSOFT® OS, a UNIX® OS, a LINUX® OS,and/or another suitable server-based OS. It is to be appreciated thatone or more operations performed by the online transaction system and/orone or more services provided by the online transaction system can becombined, distributed, and/or separated for a given implementationexample. Furthermore, the online transaction system can be associatedwith a payment system, an online payment system, an enterprise system,and/or another type of system.

Electronic accounts can be managed by the online transaction system.Furthermore, the electronic device can access data regarding theelectronic account via the online transaction system, for example. Insome examples, the electronic account can facilitate online paymentsand/or can provide access to funds. In an example, the electronicaccount can be associated with one or more transactions. For instance,one or more transactions can be executed and/or initiated via theelectronic device. The electronic account and/or the electronic devicecan be associated with a user (e.g., a user identity, a buyer, a seller,and so forth). In an example, a transaction for the electronic accountcan be executed by the online transaction system. Additionally oralternatively, a payment related to the transaction for the electronicaccount can be processed by the online transaction system. In anotherexample, data associated with the electronic account can be rendered viaa display of the electronic device. For instance, data associated withthe electronic account can be rendered as one or more visual elementsvia a display of the electronic device.

It is to be noted that aspects or features of this disclosure can beexploited in substantially any wireless telecommunication or radiotechnology, e.g., Wi-Fi; Bluetooth; Worldwide Interoperability forMicrowave Access (WiMAX); Enhanced General Packet Radio Service(Enhanced GPRS); Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long TermEvolution (LTE); Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) UltraMobile Broadband (UMB); 3GPP Universal Mobile Telecommunication System(UMTS); High Speed Packet Access (HSPA); High Speed Downlink PacketAccess (HSDPA); High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA); GSM (GlobalSystem for Mobile Communications) EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSMEvolution) Radio Access Network (GERAN); UMTS Terrestrial Radio AccessNetwork (UTRAN); LTE Advanced (LTE-A); etc. Additionally, some or all ofthe examples described herein can be exploited in legacytelecommunication technologies, e.g., GSM. In addition, mobile as wellnon-mobile networks (e.g., the Internet, data service network such asinternet protocol television (IPTV), etc.) can exploit aspects orfeatures described herein.

While the subject matter has been described above in the general contextof computer-executable instructions of a computer program that runs on acomputer and/or computers, those skilled in the art will recognize thatthis disclosure also can or may be implemented in combination with otherprogram modules. Generally, program modules include routines, programs,components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks and/orimplement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in theart will appreciate that the inventive methods may be practiced withother computer system configurations, including single-processor ormultiprocessor computer systems, mini-computing devices, mainframecomputers, as well as personal computers, hand-held computing devices(e.g., PDA, phone), microprocessor-based or programmable consumer orindustrial electronics, and the like. The illustrated aspects may alsobe practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks areperformed by remote processing devices that are linked through acommunications network. However, some, if not all aspects of thisdisclosure can be practiced on stand-alone computers. In a distributedcomputing environment, program modules may be located in both local andremote memory storage devices.

As used in this application, the terms “component,” “system,”“platform,” “interface,” and the like, can refer to and/or can include acomputer-related entity or an entity related to an operational machinewith one or more specific functionalities. The entities disclosed hereincan be either hardware, a combination of hardware and software,software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, butis not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor,an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or acomputer. By way of illustration, both an application running on aserver and the server can be a component. One or more components mayreside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component maybe localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or morecomputers.

In another example, respective components can execute from variouscomputer readable media having various data structures stored thereon.The components may communicate via local and/or remote processes such asin accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., datafrom one component interacting with another component in a local system,distributed system, and/or across a network such as the Internet withother systems via the signal). As another example, a component can be anapparatus with specific functionality provided by mechanical partsoperated by electric or electronic circuitry, which is operated by asoftware or firmware application executed by a processor. In such acase, the processor can be internal or external to the apparatus and canexecute at least a part of the software or firmware application. As yetanother example, a component can be an apparatus that provides specificfunctionality through electronic components without mechanical parts,wherein the electronic components can include a processor or other meansto execute software or firmware that confers at least in part thefunctionality of the electronic components. In an aspect, a componentcan emulate an electronic component via a virtual machine, e.g., withina cloud computing system.

In addition, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” ratherthan an exclusive “or.” That is, unless specified otherwise, or clearfrom context, “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of the naturalinclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or Xemploys both A and B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any ofthe foregoing instances. Moreover, articles “a” and “an” as used in thesubject specification and annexed drawings should generally be construedto mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from contextto be directed to a singular form.

As used herein, the terms “example” and/or “exemplary” are utilized tomean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. For the avoidanceof doubt, the subject matter disclosed herein is not limited by suchexamples. In addition, any aspect or design described herein as an“example” and/or “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs, nor is it meantto preclude equivalent exemplary structures and techniques known tothose of ordinary skill in the art.

Various aspects or features described herein can be implemented as amethod, apparatus, system, or article of manufacture using standardprogramming or engineering techniques. In addition, various aspects orfeatures disclosed in this disclosure can be realized through programmodules that implement at least one or more of the methods disclosedherein, the program modules being stored in a memory and executed by atleast a processor. Other combinations of hardware and software orhardware and firmware can enable or implement aspects described herein,including a disclosed method(s). The term “article of manufacture” asused herein can encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device, carrier, or storage media. For example,computer readable storage media can include but are not limited tomagnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips. . . ), optical discs (e.g., compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc(DVD), blu-ray disc (BD) . . . ), smart cards, and flash memory devices(e.g., card, stick, key drive . . . ), or the like.

As it is employed in the subject specification, the term “processor” canrefer to substantially any computing processing unit or devicecomprising, but not limited to, single-core processors;single-processors with software multithread execution capability;multi-core processors; multi-core processors with software multithreadexecution capability; multi-core processors with hardware multithreadtechnology; parallel platforms; and parallel platforms with distributedshared memory. Additionally, a processor can refer to an integratedcircuit, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digitalsignal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), aprogrammable logic controller (PLC), a complex programmable logic device(CPLD), a discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed herein. Further, processors can exploit nano-scalearchitectures such as, but not limited to, molecular and quantum-dotbased transistors, switches and gates, in order to optimize space usageor enhance performance of user equipment. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing processing units.

In this disclosure, terms such as “store,” “storage,” “data store,” datastorage,” “database,” and substantially any other information storagecomponent relevant to operation and functionality of a component areutilized to refer to “memory components,” entities embodied in a“memory,” or components comprising a memory. It is to be appreciatedthat memory and/or memory components described herein can be eithervolatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile andnonvolatile memory.

By way of illustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory caninclude read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electricallyprogrammable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM), flashmemory, or nonvolatile random access memory (RAM) (e.g., ferroelectricRAM (FeRAM). Volatile memory can include RAM, which can act as externalcache memory, for example. By way of illustration and not limitation,RAM is available in many forms such as synchronous RAM (SRAM), dynamicRAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDRSDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), direct RambusRAM (DRRAM), direct Rambus dynamic RAM (DRDRAM), and Rambus dynamic RAM(RDRAM). Additionally, the disclosed memory components of systems ormethods herein are intended to include, without being limited toincluding, these and any other suitable types of memory.

It is to be appreciated and understood that components, as describedwith regard to a particular system or method, can include the same orsimilar functionality as respective components (e.g., respectively namedcomponents or similarly named components) as described with regard toother systems or methods disclosed herein.

What has been described above includes examples of systems and methodsthat provide advantages of this disclosure. It is, of course, notpossible to describe every conceivable combination of components ormethods for purposes of describing this disclosure, but one of ordinaryskill in the art may recognize that many further combinations andpermutations of this disclosure are possible. Furthermore, to the extentthat the terms “includes,” “has,” “possesses,” and the like are used inthe detailed description, claims, appendices and drawings such terms areintended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as“comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in aclaim.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a memory; and a processorconfigured to execute computer instructions stored in the memory thatwhen executed cause the system to perform operations comprising:receiving transaction data associated with a transaction via atransaction component; incorporating at least a portion of thetransaction data into a security process associated withchallenge-response authentication of a data block for the transactiondata, wherein the data block comprises cryptographic hash data foranother data block in a blockchain associated with the data block; andvalidating the data block associated with the blockchain based on thesecurity process.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the operationsfurther comprise rendering at least a portion of the security processvia a display of an electronic device, wherein the rendering includes atleast one of rendering visual data associated with the security processvia the display and rendering contextual data associated with thetransaction via the display.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein therendering the visual data further comprises at least one of presentingthe visual data associated with a query regarding information containedin the portion of the transaction data and generating a query regardingcontextual information for the transaction.
 4. The system of claim 2,wherein the rendering the visual data comprises at least one ofpresenting the visual data based on a timestamp associated with thetransaction and rendering the visual data by executing an automatedTuring test associated with the challenge-response authentication. 5.The system of claim 2, wherein the transaction component is operated byat least one validator component, and wherein the at least one validatorcomponent facilitates operations that include at least one of:generating at least one transactor query regarding the transaction to atransactor via the display of the electronic device; and generating atleast one blockchain query regarding the transaction to a blockchainresponder component having authority to update the blockchain.
 6. Thesystem of claim 5, wherein the at least one transaction componentpresenting a transaction interface to the transactor to facilitateperforming at least one of a financial exchange between parties, a fileexchange between parties, and a property exchange between parties, andwherein the data block in the blockchain is employed to record theexchanges.
 7. The system of claim 5, wherein a private key is employedby the at least one validator component as part of the security processto encrypt the at least one transactor query and the at least oneblockchain query.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein the operationsfurther comprise sharing a public key between the at least one validatorcomponent and the blockchain responder component as part of the securityprocess, and wherein the public key is employed by the blockchainresponder component to send an encrypted response in response to theencrypted blockchain query.
 9. The system of claim 7, wherein theprivate key is employed by the at least one validator component as partof the security process for verifying the encrypted response to theencrypted blockchain query.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the atleast one of the blockchain responder component and the at least onevalidator component update the data block in the blockchain with thetransaction data based on verifying the encrypted response.
 11. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein the security process includes a homomorphicencryption, wherein the encrypted queries are generated as E(Q₁), E(Q₂). . . E(Q_(N)) by the at least one validator component and theblockchain responder component responds with the encrypted response tothe respective queries and is a summation represented as E(Q₁+Q₂ . . .+Q_(N)), with E representing an encryption using a private or publickey, Q representing a query, and N representing a positive integer. 12.The system of claim 11, wherein the encrypted queries and the encryptedresponse is generated as a hash value.
 13. A computer-implementedmethod, comprising: receiving, by a system having a processor and amemory, transaction data involved in one or more transactions to beadded to a data block of a blockchain; generating, by the system, atleast two encrypted queries that encrypts at least a portion of thetransaction data as separate encrypted values associated with therespective encrypted queries; receiving, by the system, an encryptedresponse to the at least two encrypted queries representing anaggregated encrypted value determined from the separate encryptedvalues; and verifying, by the system, that the aggregated encryptedvalue correlates to the separate encrypted values.
 14. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 13, further comprising updating, bythe system, the data block in the blockchain with the transaction databased on verifying that the aggregated encrypted value correlates to theseparate encrypted values.
 15. The computer-implemented method of claim13, further comprising employing, by the system, a private key toencrypt the at least two encrypted queries, and utilizing, by thesystem, a public key to generate the encrypted response to the at leasttwo encrypted queries.
 16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15,further comprising utilizing the private key for verifying, by thesystem, that the aggregated encrypted value correlates to the separateencrypted values.
 17. The computer-implemented method of claim 13,wherein the at least two encrypted queries are generated as ahomomorphic encryption, wherein the encrypted queries are generated asE(Q₁), E(Q₂) . . . E(Q_(N)) and the encrypted response to the respectivequeries is the aggregated encrypted value that represented as at leastone of a summation represented as E(Q₁+Q₂+ . . . +Q_(N)) or a productrepresented as E(Q₁*Q₂* . . . *Q_(N)), with E representing an encryptionusing a private or public key, Q representing a query, and Nrepresenting a positive integer.
 18. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 17, wherein the at least two encrypted queries and the encryptedresponse is generated as a hash value.
 19. A non-transitorymachine-readable medium having machine-readable instructions that whenexecuted by a processor cause the processor to: receive transaction datainvolved in one or more transactions to be added to a data block of ablockchain; generate a plurality of encrypted queries that encrypts atleast a portion of the transaction data as separate encrypted valuesassociated with each of the plurality of encrypted queries; receive anencrypted response to the plurality of encrypted queries, wherein theencrypted response is based upon the separate encrypted values; andverify that the encrypted response correlates to the separate encryptedvalues.
 20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 19, theinstructions further comprising causing the processor to update the datablock in the blockchain with the transaction data based on verifyingthat the encrypted response correlates to the separate encrypted values.